The Viewpoint papers
by weebee
Summary: A series of out of order stories that all center around various pieces of documentation in a post-canon universe. Warning:Experimental fiction. Brain breaking awaits!
1. Genma's Story

Genma's Story.  
First person narration test writing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1\2.

Author's Note: Well, here's another oneshot. This time I read it over carefully and even got it proofed, so this one shouldn't suck so badly. I was originally going to make it longer to cover Nerima, but I think what I've already got makes the point for me.

Anyways, let the story begin.

Viewpoints 1: Genma's Story.

Hi, the name's Saotome Genma. Yeah, that Saotome Genma. I don't really know why I'm writing this. I doubt that if I ever gave it to my boy, he'd read it. I mean, I'm just the stupid old man. If you know who I am, you probably agree with him, but damn it I succeeded in doing what I wanted to. Why won't anyone acknowledge that?

It makes me angry, sometimes. I hear everyone saying things, and they don't even have the courtesy to say them behind my back, but they have no idea what I went through on that ten year training trip. It's all about the boy. Yeah, I admit I did a lot of stupid crap to him over the years, but if I hadn't, he'd be dead six different ways by now.

When, you ask? I don't know, how about when he went with Akane to fight that Orochi at Ryugensawa? Aside from the Tendo arrangement, which I like to think was one of my better arrangements, NOTHING I'd done precipitated that mess, and without his training Ranma would have been dead, but NO! It's just Genma, the idiotic, cowardly Panda. He's never done anything good in his entire life. You know what the hardest part is? That boy is exactly what I strove to create. He adapts to any situation nearly instantly, never gives up and incorporates JUST enough of my own underhanded dirty tricks to win the fights he couldn't possibly win fighting fair.

I'm proud of the boy. I love him dearly, but I'll never show it. Not in a million years. When I'm buried in the ground, I know my son will hate me. Part of me wishes that he's going to read this some day, that he'll find out WHY I did so much to him over the years, and that he may one day forgive me for what I had to do.

You know, maybe I do know why I'm writing this thing. I just want to leave something as a legacy other than mild annoyance and my son, and I guess this is it. As stupid as it sounds, I'm going to write down every immoral, stupid and dishonorable thing I've done, and tell WHY I did it. I'm sure that if the various police departments who're after me got a hold of this they'd probably faint with joy.

The first thing you're probably asking is why the hell I started the training trip, anyway? To that, I answer that you really don't know much about wandering martial artists, do you? It's kind of funny, though I know that my son and Akane love each other, I sometimes wonder if she realizes that some day, he's going to become restless and wander, even if he doesn't have a child to train. It's an urge, a calling. I've worked most of it out, but it took me over thirty years of the wandering life to do it, and I still grab my pack and go off for a few days every once in a while, even now.

That was a big part of why I left Nodoka all those years ago. I mean, I'd been on a few training trips with the boy before-hand, I'd even carried him on my back when he was too young to walk, telling stories about my old training days with Soun, not really caring if he understood them or not. Yeah, that's how I ended up in the desert with the Daikoku family, in case you're wondering, and just to clear things up right now about that, there's part of that story I didn't get to tell when Daikoku and his daughter showed up to fulfill the engagement. Me and Ranma'd been out in the desert for a few days.

Yeah, I'd brought provisions, but the boy was only a year old, and specialty baby food doesn't keep very well in an old backpack in the middle of a hot, dry desert. I'd run out of provisions about two days before, and being my usual pig headed self had refused to turn around. I had been looking for this supposed 'ancient order of desert dwelling monks,' with very little success, and I wasn't taking no for an answer.

Anyways, by the time I stumbled on Mr. Daikoku, I was hallucinating badly most of the time and had a bad case of sun stroke. I hadn't eaten or drank in a long while, and Ranma wasn't looking very good. I noticed he had a kid, so I figured I'd get him to help Ranma out a bit and get some food for myself at the same time. I know what you're probably thinking, why not just ask for help? I did. The bastard just flat out said 'no,' with some line about him having limited supplies. Kind of funny how receptive he was when I offered to trade Ranma.

A lot of the things I've done over the years even ashamed me, but I wouldn't turn away a starving man and his young son, no matter how little food I had myself. I put food over a lot, but there are some lines even I wouldn't cross.

So yeah, that's why I made the first engagement. Well, the first other than Tendo's. Despite what you may think, I didn't walk around Japan looking for girls to sell Ranma to. I arranged three engagements, one of which was an absolute survival necessity. Yeah, I know you're thinking about Kuonji now, but I'll get to that eventually.

So, getting back to the original subject, most of the reason I went on the trip was because I wanted to wander, and I wanted to bring up my son in the martial arts. …all right, there was another motivation. My wife.

Don't get me wrong, Nodoka's a beautiful and kind woman, and I love her, even if I'm scared spitless of that damned Katana of hers. The thing about Nodoka is that she'd fallen in love with being a mother, and with the idea of having the perfect little son. You may not think this was a problem, but her idea of 'perfect' wasn't exactly very good for a martial artist.

Everyone seems to think that I'm a sexist pig because I took Ranma away so Nodoka couldn't coddle him. None of you have lived with the woman when she has a young child around, have you? I tell you, every time the boy would slip and skin his knee, she'd be on him like a hawk, cooing over the 'boo-boo' and comforting him, even though he wasn't even crying! It was impossible to teach him ANYTHING in the art, because every time he got so much as a bruise she'd fly into hysterics.

Now, I wonder where that caring woman disappeared. Yes, she's always taken honor very seriously, while I've thought of it mostly as a tool to manipulate. You think that's bad, I'm sorry. The fact is that most Japanese assume that everyone lives by their code of honor, and I use that. But anyways, I'll get back to that later.

What disturbs me about Nodoka, is that now she doesn't show the slightest concern for the boy. I saw it, in the beginning. When she was being 'aunty Saotome' for Ranko, I saw what she used to be like. It made it so hard to hide as that damned panda, but fear has always been a strong force in my life, probably the only thing that's kept me alive through some of my stunts back in the day with the old master. When she finally found out about the curse, though… she seemed to change completely.

I think even Ranma knows something's wrong, and he's never been really swift when it comes to picking things up outside of a fight. a bit of a disadvantage to the way I trained him, I'm afraid. Ah, why is it that I keep getting distracted? Maybe it's that I don't want to remember some of the things that happened in the early years of the training trip.

I made a promise to finish this damned thing, though, and unlike most of the others, I'm going to succeed in this one.

Well, let's just say that I managed to get Nodoka to relinquish Ranma for the training trip, but it took a lot of convincing, and eventually the contract. Yeah, I know the contract was a bad idea, but I didn't then. I thought I'd raise Ranma in the tradition of the art, make him strong and powerful, and we'd have no problem convincing Nodoka that he was manly, and damn it, I don't care what some people say. Ever since I saw the boy face down Saffron in China, I can say that I fulfilled that contract to the letter, no matter how big his cursed form's breasts are.

That's another thing that I want to set straight right now. I do NOT look down on women. Well, okay, I tend to look at women quite a bit, but think about it. I've been wandering this country for a very long time, and in that time I've encountered my fair share of female martial artists that could beat me. There's a simple reason why I call Ranma a weak little girl, and that's school yard teasing. During the training trip, I'd enroll Ranma in school whenever we were in a town long enough that I figured he'd get a good chance to settle in.

One of these times, He was well into the 'girls are icky and have cooties' phase, and someone had started calling him girly. This annoyed Ranma quite a bit, and the anger made him sloppy. I've always taught him not to let anger screw up his fighting, it's a quick way of getting his ass kicked, and using his insulting skill to piss off his opponent for the exact same effect is part of the school, so after I heard about the fight at school, I started calling him girly in sparring sessions.

He eventually got past letting it screw up his fighting, but it ALWAYS worked to get him angry. I really don't know why it effected him so much, but it was a good way to make him fight harder, and I didn't see any reason why it'd cause a problem. Damn Jusenkyo, anyhow.

Gah, I keep getting distracted. Admittedly, the next few years of my and Ranma's life, at the beginning of the training trip, are something I don't really like to look back on too much, especially without the nice damping effect of a bottle of good sake.

You see, Ranma took leaving his mother REALLY hard. For the first few months, I'd hear him sniveling from the Futon next to mine, crying for his mother. Every time I heard it, I felt bad, and every time I felt bad, I went to get a drink or trained Ranma harder to alleviate my own depression.

It was around that time that I found the book. I'd been using the Umisenken to break into a small store for some money at the time. It was an antique shop, specializing in the arcane or unusual. Yeah, breaking and entering isn't very honorable either, but it's how I did things. I'd still do it that way if I didn't already have a roof over my head and food in my belly, and I don't much care what you think about it. Finding an ancient training manual while I was rummaging through the shop for pawnables was a nice bonus, and when I read the technique inside, I thought I'd found the mother load.

Yeah, I know. I should have read the Neko-ken manual more carefully. Every time I look back on the incident, I curse myself for not checking the next page, and it was my own laziness to blame, but as the Americans say, hindsight is 20/20.

The first time I tried the technique, I tried not to be as vicious as the manual indicated. I let Ranma play with a pit full of well fed cats. I guess I figured that if he hung around with them, he could start picking up their fighting style, or something. That obviously didn't work, so I decided, reluctantly, to step up to the full technique.

Yeah, it sounds pretty cruel, and honestly it is, but there are techniques that are just as bad in main stream arts, and they bring good results. Look at that Hibiki boy, for example. I'm sure getting hit by boulders couldn't have been fun, but now he can stop cars with his body and keep walking.

At this point, I was mostly lost in the idea of making Ranma the perfect martial artist, to show my master and everyone else that I could do good, and maybe I should have stopped after the first drop into the pit. Kami, the boy's screams still echo in my ears sometimes. I desperately wish that I'd stopped the first time, but I didn't. I insisted that he could do this, that he could master the Neko-ken and make me proud, and by the time I realized that I'd instilled a severe fear of cats into him instead, it was too late.

My reasoning after that was kind of hard to explain. I guess it's kind of like thinking that you've already done the damage, and you can only go up hill from here. Honestly, tell me I'm wrong! If I'd have stopped when he was just afraid of them, what would that have done? He'd still have a paralyzing fear of cats that could be used against him in a fight, but no defense against people taking advantage of it. That's what I tell myself every time he wakes me up, screaming his head off.

People think I don't care when my son is huddled in a ball crying out of complete terror? I care. I care a lot, the problem is that I didn't stop to realize the damage I'd caused until it was too late, and now both of us have to live with the consequences. Do you know I still have the scars from the first time he went cat?

He tore a good part of my left leg clean off with his claws before he ran off, and there were some nasty gashes on my side, too. Some part of me just wanted to let him go, to lay back and let myself bleed to death in punishment for what I'd done to my son, but I couldn't.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking, I was too scared to die. That's probably partly true, but the reason I got up, got medical attention and went to find the boy was because I wanted to make up, somehow, for removing his sanity. The goal of making him the best martial artist ever wasn't just to show up my old master anymore, it was now because I'd taken something away from the boy, and had to give him something else in exchange. The art was all I had.

After I got patched up at a local hospital, I went hunting for the boy. My leg was still sore as hell, but somehow the boy taking a huge chunk out of It hadn't managed to hit any vital nerves or muscles. I think I have my weight to thank for that.

When I found the boy, this old lady from in town had apparently found him. He was curled up in her lap, this look of complete piece on his face that I hadn't seen since we'd left Nodoka. I thanked her and took him back with me. It's funny. The lady was old, and I think blind. I don't even know if she realized that Ranma wasn't some big cat that had walked up onto her porch.

The next thing I have to tell here, I haven't told anyone before in my life, and it's a reason why I told them not to read this until I was dead. When the boy woke up, he didn't recognize me. In fact, he didn't recognize anything. He didn't remember anything at all aside from how to talk. I explained who I was, and what we were doing, and he took it pretty well. I even told him about the Neko-ken training, but he told me he did remember that.

Honestly, I think Ranma still can't remember anything from before he was six years old. I don't know if it was brain damage, some 'psychological trauma' or something else, but one thing was for sure. It made training Ranma both a lot easier and a bit more painful.

Before the training trip, I'd acted like a father to Ranma. I'd done all the things fathers do with their sons. I'd carried him around on my shoulders, I'd laughed at his stupid jokes and made appreciative noises at the things he'd done and made at school. During the trip, I was his Sensai first and his father second, and that's all Ranma knows. He doesn't know that I once acted like any other father with his son.

As for how Ranma's loss of memory made things easier, for one thing he didn't know anything about Nodoka anymore. He didn't cry for his mother because he didn't know who she was, and he took to the art with all of his heart because that's what I told him he was doing before.

I perpetrated the greatest lie I've ever done, or ever will do, and I think it's the soul reason Ranma's as good as he is. The art is, and according to him always has been, the only really important thing in his life.

I think some other things have recently intruded into the place that the art holds in his heart, most notably Akane, and somehow I'm glad about that. It may make him slower to improve, or may give him a better reason to keep trying to improve. Come to think of it, given how much more quickly he's increased in power since we came to Nerima, probably the second one.

As it was, Ranma's new dedication to the art gave me a whole new range of techniques to try with him, simply because he was determined to face the challenge and grow from it, rather than trying to shirk his responsibility.

That was when I started training him in the most important part of the anything goes. Many have wondered why I used so many dangerous and life threatening training techniques on Ranma during the trip. The answer was simple. I had to come up with a new technique for him to train in every couple of days. That was the key. Ranma had to be constantly barraged with changing conditions, with little or no warning, in order to increase his range of abilities and adaptability.

When he was younger, before he hit the age of ten or so, most of these techniques were reasonably safe. The occasional flicking of small rocks at him when he was doing a Kata, or rolling logs and other obstructions into his path while running.

No, I didn't have him running from wolves at seven. I learned from the one massive training mistake I made. I knew damned well that Ranma was ready before I tried ANY technique after the Neko-ken, and I was always looking out to make sure he wouldn't be killed or too badly hurt. A broken leg here or there was fine, it helped him learn and increased his healing ability. A broken neck was definitely not.

It was a couple of months before Ranma's seventh birthday, about half a year after the Neko-ken when we arrived in Ukyo's little town near Osaka. I'm sure many people are still wondering what I was thinking when I engaged Ranma to Ukyo. Honestly, I'm not sure. Ranma'd been training with the girl for a week or so even before I found out.

I'd noticed that he wasn't fighting for his food quite as much as usual, and he seemed a little more happy, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. That was until he used a throw I'd never taught him to catch me off-guard and fling me into a tree. It was a weight redirecting throw. Even Ranma didn't have enough strength to move someone my size at just under seven, but it impressed me so I asked him where he'd learned it.

That's when I met the Kuonjis. I won't lie, Ukyo and her father were both good. Ukyo even managed to pin Ranma a few times, though he'd never admit to it and it'd never happen twice. Kind of a shame what happened,. She could have been so much better with actual instruction rather than that training by the sea thing.

As for the engagement, Mr. Kuonji started pestering me about it only a couple days after I met him. He liked Ranma, and Ukyo liked Ranma, so what was the harm? I told him about the Tendo arrangement, but he just shrugged it off. Then he brought out the big guns, mentioning that Ranma'd been eating free Okonomiyaki at his cart for a week now, and offering his family cart as a dowry.

Normally, this would be my cue to start running, but Ranma still hadn't figured out all of Ukyo's family style, and I figured it'd be a good addition to the anything goes. Besides, the cart would be useful for making a bit of semi-legitimate money for a while. I agreed to the arrangement. Quite possibly the third stupidest thing I've ever done, with the Seppuku promise coming forth, Jusenkyo second and the Neko-ken first.

After making the arrangement, guilt started to bother me. I had fully planned to run out on Kuonji with his Yattai as soon as the date when I was supposed to take Ukyo rolled around, but Ranma did really seem to like the girl, and I'd already taken a choice away from him when I'd left for the training trip in the first place.

In retrospect, asking him if he liked Ukyo or Okonomiyaki better was a pretty stupid way to get rid of my guilty feeling, but it worked. Maybe I would have done things differently if I'd known that Ranma didn't even know Ukyo was female, but I personally doubt it.

The next morning, I took off with the Yattai, Ranma perched on the back and waving happily at Ukyo as she ran after us. I don't hear those calls quite as often as I do Ranma's Neko-ken screams, but it still bothers me. No, that's not really true. It never really bothered me until I found out what Ukyo'd spent the last ten years doing. The idea that she'd lost her childhood to my stupid scheme to let Ranma learn a new technique or two and get some free food is yet another shame I suffer from, but considering the amount I'm ashamed of, does it really matter?

Yeah, I bet you're surprised that I feel regret for the things I do. I never show it unless it's due to some act to get Ranma to do what I want, but I am a human being, damn it. I'm not some sort of uncaring, over-eating monster.

Fortunately, the incident with Ukyo was the last really bad thing that happened for a good long time. I spent the next few years teaching Ranma and traveling around, preaching to him all the time about the virtues of a true martial artist and finding new masters for him to train with while I got the money I needed to feed us, legally or illegally.

It wasn't until Ranma was in Jr. High that I realized I'd rambled about honor a little too much. He'd been getting into training fights with Ryoga, usually right after the lunch hour at school. The faculty complained, but I just shrugged it off. The boy had found a good sparing partner, and that was all that mattered. Unfortunately, my activity in the area had started drawing attention, and the two of us eventually had to leave.

Apparently Ryoga challenged Ranma to one last fight before he left, so I allowed him to go to this vacant lot near Ryoga's house to wait for the challenge. At the time, I didn't know about Ryoga's direction sense, so I figured Ranma would be done in a few hours.

When he didn't come back the first night, I thought Ryoga had beaten him, and decided that he needed some time to sulk about it before I lit into him over it. By the time the second nightfall rolled around, I was actually worried, but I decided to give him until morning.

When I went to get him at about ten the next morning, I found him standing there, looking like he hadn't slept in days. He hadn't. He'd just stood there, waiting, for the whole time because he was afraid that Ryoga would show up when he was gone getting food or his tent. Why'd he do all this? Because he'd promised to wait for Ryoga.

The second he saw me, he just fell over. I took him back to our campsite, packed up and hiked out of town. If I'd have known what a pain in Ranma's ass Ryoga would later become… I'd have done nothing. Ryoga may have been a pain in Ranma's ass, but he was also his rival. I think that half, or more, of the boy's advancement in the art in the past years has been to keep ahead of the lost boy.

One thing I did start doing differently after this event, though, was to start teaching Ranma that while a martial artist's word freely given couldn't be broken, it could be interpreted. For example, he could leave a note for Ryoga saying what he was doing and to stay there. Quite simply, I told him that honor could be bent, but never completely broken.

I know that's not what a traditional citizen thinks, but it's how I work, and given his condition when I went and checked on him Ranma would have passed out from exhaustion and maybe died if he'd kept trying to uphold that stupid promise he'd made to Ryoga.

As almost anyone who'd want to read this knows, it was after Ranma met Ryoga in Jr. High that we headed over to China. I'd been planning the trip to China since the beginning of the training trip. It was to be a sort of wrap-up before we headed home to Nodoka, to see if Ranma could incorporate Chinese martial techniques into his style.

I'd found a guidebook, mostly in Chinese, but it highlighted some interesting sounding training grounds, and I'd decided to take a two year trip around the country, visiting them all in order.

One thing you've got to understand, EVERY one of them, aside from Jusenkyo, had either been harmless or beneficial. Ancient shrines to powerful gods that did absolutely nothing, or a tribe of bamboo-wielding staff users who showed us a lot about the iron cloth.

I honestly had no way of knowing that the last one on the list would be so harmful to us. We'd visited three 'cursed valleys' and a 'cursed tower' beforehand, so the name didn't frighten me one bit. Of course, if we'd have listened to the guide, we'd have known, but I was too eager to train to bother, and I guess so was Ranma. Actually, I think he was turning to hear what the guide was saying when I came out of the pond as a Panda, but at that point it was too late.

Ranma chased me around the pools for a good six hours after we got cursed, and I honestly don't know when we met Ryoga. I was in a state of blind fear at that point. You don't want to know how much like his mother Ranma looks when he's female and angry. All he needs is a Katana, and the image would be complete. Well, aside from hair color anyways.

As for me trying to cook Ryoga later, well I was hungry from the chase, and how was I supposed to know the little pig was really a person? Well, all right. The springs were very close, so it should have been obvious, but I tried to cook him, and he somehow blames that on Ranma as well, I'm sure. That boy's got one hell of a one track mind.

Eventually, Ranma'd been calmed down and changed back, but something had changed. I wasn't really sure what it was at first, he just seemed to be acting a little off. It was later, when I asked him if he wanted to try a new training technique that I figured out what that offness was. He said, "What, ya got another Jusenkyo up yer sleeve, ol' man?"

The Neko-ken hadn't destroyed Ranma's trust in me, since he didn't even really know me until after it'd happened, but apparently Jusenkyo had done it, and done it thoroughly. I'm not really sure why. Maybe Jusenkyo just put everything else in his life into some warped form of perspective, because ever since he's been calling me on all the stupid things I'd done before it. A lot of people seem to think Ranma doesn't even really consider me his father, and they're right, but that wasn't true until Jusenkyo.

I don't even really think it was the curse. I mean, he's grown to, if not like it, at least accept it, but I think everything I'd done coming to roost all at once in Nerima just pushed him further from me.

Earlier I talked about seeing him fight Saffron and saying that he proved himself a man to me on the spot that day. That's true, but he also proved something else a week later, after the failed wedding.

Admittedly, not one of my and Soun's best ideas, but I'd just come back from seeing Ranma save Akane and shout his love to the heavens, so we thought that It'd be the perfect time to plan a wedding.

Ranma came to me after the disaster, and just stared at me for a few minutes. I opened my mouth a few times, and tried to say something. To apologize for once, for helping plan this mess and going after a cure that was rightfully his, but one of my traits that Ranma had inherited stopped me. I wasn't sure how to say it, and I knew that if I opened my mouth something stupid would come out.

He just kept staring for a few moments more, shook his head and walked off. He hasn't talked to me since. He and Akane married five years ago. I wasn't invited to the wedding. I've never seen their daughter.

I succeeded in making Saotome Ranma the best martial artist he could possibly be. He's fast, adaptable, determined and smart as hell in a fight, and that's all because of my training. He's now happily married. Nodoka tells me that his daughter's beautiful and he's got a whole series of classes set up in the Dojo now.

Even if everyone other than old Tendo and No-chan despise me or look at me with disgust, I'm proud. I did what I set out to do. My son is a man of (Sometimes questionable) honor, a martial artist to be proud of, a loving husband, proud parent and teacher, and damn it I DID IT!

I can't believe that the total destruction of my relationship with my son, and his childhood, was for nothing. Damn it, I did the right thing…. Didn't I?

HR.

Saotome Ranma slowly closed the small brown book that had been held in his shaking hands, a single tear rolling down his cheek. "Yeah pop, you did the right thing." He stammered, a lump clearly evident in his throat. Setting the small book down on the cold stone in front of him, Ranma slowly exited the graveyard.


	2. Ranma's Story

Hey, this could be the second of the Perspectives series, though it could break the whole flow of Genma's story, in which case I'll pull it down. If it succeeds, the next one would be either Nodoka or Kasumi, depending on how the mood strikes me.

Hope this succeeds.

Viewpoints 2: Ranma's Story.

A small white envelope slid under Akane Tendo's door silently, as the blue-black haired martial artist lay in bed, staring tiredly up at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep, and hadn't been able to for the entire night, since this afternoon and the incident with shampoo.

Akane considered ignoring the interruption, but after a few more seconds of restlessness, she threw her legs over the edge of the bed and walked to the door. She opened it a crack and looked out into the hallway, but there was no one there and all of the doors were tightly closed. Looking down to the floor, the youngest Tendo noticed that the envelope that had been slipped under the door had her name on the front in Ranma's messy scrawl. She picked it up, slipping a slightly too long fingernail under the flap and opening it.

Inside were a second envelope with Ranma's mother's name written on the front, and a letter. "What could he want to say to me?" She asked, frowning. Ranma hadn't talked to her since supper time, always looking away or at the ground. Re-entering her room and turning on the light at her desk, she sat down and started reading the letter.

HR.

Hey Akane, it's me. I'd like it if you could give the other letter in here to mom after tomorrow. Look, Tomboy. I know we've fought all the time, but this is my last request for you, okay? Oh yeah, could you also read all the way through this letter I'm writing you, too? I ain't all that good with words, so if I write somethin stupid, just keep goin and I hope it'll clear things up.

Right now I've got nothin to lose. I know Mom ain't gunna change her mind, especially with how disgusted she looked when she made her pronouncement. Damn Shampoo, anyhow. Gah, I even don't wanna say it when it's my last letter to you. Maybe Mom's right and I'm a stinkin coward.

Akane, I love you. There, I said it. I know I always insulted you and didn't take you seriously in the art and all that other stuff, but c'mon. Yer so slow and, aw damn.

Starting over. I've been runnin 'round with pop in the woods for 'round ten years, and I guess it makes me rough around the edges, but I really do love you, Akane. Have since that first day I showed up. Nah, I'm wrong. That'd be really sentimental, like those stupid CLAMP manga you like, but it ain't the truth. The night I met you I was down right pissed. Pop'd just dragged me in to some random house, right after I got the curse, and here was this stupid tomboy callin me a perv 'cuz SHE walked in on me in the bath… Not to mention all those insults 'bout the curse. Yeah, I know I wasn't any better, but… Man, I'm getting off track already, and I'm getting kinda tired.

Akane, you wanna know when I fell in love with you? Yer gunna laugh, it was so stupid. Remember when we were walking home and my legs gave out? Found out later that that was Dr. Tofu's pressure points, but the part of it that's important now is that you carried me all the way back to the house, after we'd been fightin like cats 'n dogs the whole day. Why'd that effect me so much? Got no idea. It's the truth, though. Everything since then, Mikato, Herb, Saffron… it was all 'cuz of that night, and the stuff that happened after it, though I gotta say yer cookin sometimes strained things.

It's getting late and I gotta be up bright and early tomorrow, so I'm gunna end this here. I'm just sorry it took somethin like this for me to finally admit it. Feh, ain't it always the way it works, though? You were half dead on mount phoenix, and I still think I didn't say it, no matter what you heard. I wasn't just bein a bastard during the wedding, I… really did wanna marry you, Akane.

Still, that don't matter now Mom's made her final choice, and I'm followin through with it. Ta think, I've finally been defeated, and it wasn't some stupidly powerful martial artist who did it. I know mom's too pissed to be talked to right now, but please, try 'n get the next letter to her at some point, even if it's months or years away. I know yer pigheaded enough to do it, Tomboy.

Love, Ranma.

HR.

Akane slowly lowered the letter, tears rolling down her cheeks. That letter had been pure Ranma, through and through, and it'd said exactly what she'd been longing to hear for over a year by this point. "Too bad it's too late." She muttered, thinking back. Right after the announcement, she'd asked Ranma why he was going through with it, and he hadn't answered. She'd almost begged him to stand up to Nodoka, but he'd just shaken his head.

She slammed the letter down on the desk, then guiltily looked around. She hoped no one had heard that. "Why, Ranma?" She whispered, before her eyes fell on the letter that he'd written to his mother. If anything would tell her why he'd gone along with this stupid Seppuku promise when he was normally so fast and loose with his word, this would. Still, it was a private letter meant for Nodoka.

The youngest Tendo scowled. She'd heard what Nodoka had said this afternoon. Just because she'd seen Ranma running from Neko-shampoo, she'd instantly declared him unmanly and started yelling about every one of his shortcomings. Nodoka didn't deserve her respect at this point, especially if she was going to take Ranma from her. Akane shook her head. 'Where'd that come from?' She thought, before her face hardened in resolve and she picked up the second envelope.

HR.

Hi, Mom. I know yer supposed to write a death poem for a Seppuku ceremony, not a letter, but if I manage to think up a half decent Haiku by tomorrow morning, it'll surprise me. I'm sorry that, in that respect at least, I'll probably be breaking tradition. If yer reading this, I guess Akane got it to you and you were calm enough finally to listen to it. I hope that my death made up for the dishonor you felt I'd caused.

I just wrote this thing 'cuz I figured I owed you a bit of an explanation, 'n I wanted to tell things the way I saw 'em. You don't really get how much all that stuff you said 'bout me having no honor and bein a coward hurt, do you?

I know that sayin it hurt ain't exactly manly, but it did. Ever since you showed up, I did my damnedest to be what you wanted me to be. Yeah, that was even when I was hidin as Ranko. Even when I was pretendin to be a girl, I was tryin to act like a propper lady for you, as strange as that sounds.

Damn, this is soundin more like a rant than an apology, ain't it?

Mom, I'm sorry that I didn't turn out to be the son you wanted. I know that my curse and the Neko-ken ain't exactly signs of a strong man, but I really tried the best I could.

You accused me of hiding as Ranko 'to avoid the Seppuku contract, and yeah, I guess that's true. I'm afraid of a couple of things, and dyin's definitely one of them. A big part of the reason I hid so long as Ranko is 'cuz I figured I was instantly dead the second you found out about the curse, and c'mon, considering what happened this afternoon, I was right. If I hadn't done that thing on the cliff and impressed you with my martial arts, you probably woulda declared me unmanly right there and demanded that I kill myself.

One thing you don't get, though, is that I'm still here now. Pop ran off as fast as his panda legs could carry him, not that I blame the old man for that, but I stuck around. I'm gunna be there tomorrow mornin, and I'm gunna stick that dagger in my belly and hold it there as long as you ask me to, 'cuz I don't break promises. Yeah, I know. I dodged the contract for months before I revealed the curse to you, but now you've confronted me with it and I'm still here, ain't I?

As for the display this afternoon, I really can't explain that. Well, I could, but my hand'd start shakin too badly to hold the brush if I did, so I'll just ask you to ask Akane or Kasumi 'bout the Neko-ken.

Oh, and could you please take care of Akane for me, maybe help her learn to cook so she doesn't poison the next guy she hooks up with?

Mom, I don't even remember you from when I was a kid. I mean, I've had dreams about you a few times, I think, but all I really know about's the art. Still, making you proud of me's one of the most important things I can do, and the fact that it'll solve all the honor promises at the same time makes Seppuku not so bad. Part of the reason I hid from you for so long was that I wanted you to be proud. Yes, I was scared, but I didn't want to disappoint you. I was hoping I could find a cure first. I'm still scared, mom. I'm still real scared. Always figured I'd go out in a bang, some big martial arts fight where I'd face some new opponent with skills I'd never seen before. Guess that's the way I wanted to go, fighting.

The idea of just sitting on the ground 'n letting someone else kill me with no resistance, just… giving up. Momma, I hope you really know what I've done for you, and in the end, I hope you're going to be proud to have called me your son.

Goodbye, Mom.

Your son, Ranma Saotome.

HR.

Akane lowered the second sheet of paper, her face this time wearing an unreadable expression. The words written on the sheet were, at once, touching and incredibly disturbing. She'd often accused Ranma of being unfair to Nodoka before today, especially during his time as Ranko. Knowing the contents of this letter, she wasn't sure if she should start crying her eyes out or if she should go slap some sense into Nodoka Saotome for not realizing what she had in her son.

It was at that moment that Akane made her decision. With what Ranma had said in his first letter, and what he'd wanted to tell his mother in the second, she couldn't let this go on. She hadn't wanted it to earlier either, of course, but a combination of her own family honor, Ranma's passive acceptance and a few shreds of denial of the affection she'd shared with the boy had stopped her.

Softly moving to her closet, Akane Tendo slipped a set of clothes on and opened her window. She scooped up the two letters, sticking them in her dress pocket and headed for the Saotome home. Ranma was NOT going to die if she had anything to say about it, Nodoka Saotome be damned.

END.

Note: Please note that, like 'Genma's story,' I tried my best to depict Ranma and Akane as they saw themselves and eachother, at least according to my interpretation of the characters. There are problems with the narrative in this story, most notably in Ranma's letter, but at least some of them were intentional.

Please tell me if this fic deserves continuation or if I should kill this chapter with fire and leave it as a oneshot.


	3. Two Warriors' tale

Hmm, looks like it's not Nodoka or Kasumi this time. Sorry for the false advertising last time, folks.

Viewpoints 3, Two warriors' tale.

A book gently fell open on the intricately carved desk, as the woman who sat at it carefully retrieved a pencil in preparation to begin writing. Before doing so, she let her Chi flow out to suffuse the entire room, making sure that no one was around to observe her. Once she affirmed that she was alone, she returned her attention to the book and put point to paper.

HR.

Entry 327, September 12, 1994.

Today, I believe, has been an unmitigated disaster for the cause of me and mine, and I am beginning to regret my actions since coming to this country.

It is true that I've cursed my own stupid actions many times, but this… I am not entirely sure that this can be corrected for. This mission was supposed to be an easy one. I was to come to Japan, and assist my great granddaughter in her hunt for her husband, as my own mother did for me all of those years ago. Unfortunately, I seemed to have forgotten the trouble good old Happi caused when I brought him back to the village, and he had nowhere near as many attachments in Japan as the Saotome boy.

When looking back upon the whole situation, I can now see that challenging the boy and offering him ways out of my traps wasn't an intelligent idea, but I really cannot be repentant about this failure. Quite frankly, seeing Saotome Ranma adapt and grow under the threats I provided was an amazing experience, and I've even gained new insights into my own techniques through seeing him twist them to his ends.

Still, this mission was the last hope for Shampoo to regain her honor in the tribe, and avoid exile, and I should have been more careful to ensure that she would eventually succeed.

It's odd. She almost did succeed, though not in the method I'd thought. Two days ago, the girl went to see her 'Airen' with a box of Ramen. I'd been keeping her away from the Tendo home for several months since that train wreck of a wedding attempt, since I honestly did not wish to aggravate the entire Tendo and Saotome clans, however I'd thought that they were calmed down enough by now. Apparently they were, but Miss Tendo took exception to Shampoo's usual clinging to the Son in law, and hit them both with cold water.

From what Shampoo managed to relate before retreating to her room in a crying fit, Ranma's fear of cats was observed by his mother, who declared him unmanly and demanded that he commit Seppuku.

True, I would have hated to see the boy die, but his death due to Shampoo's actions would have redeemed her honor, even if it had broken her heart. While I wish to keep my great granddaughter happy, I also do not want to have her exiled from the tribe, and I felt that she would have gotten over his death within a few months.

Unfortunately, apparently the Tendo girl managed to interfere with the Saotome woman to save Ranma… after he'd written a parting letter to her that disclosed his feelings for her in full.

Nabiki Tendo has given me a copy of the letter, and I can honestly say that Ranma is lost to the tribe through normal courtship, and I am not entirely sure that drugs would work against him, specifically since long term love potions have been outlawed from general use in the Joketsuzoku for three centuries.

Honestly, I do not understand why everyone believes that we condone the rampant use of mind altering substances. Yes, we have a few potions that would allow for someone to admit feelings, true or false, for another person, but you'd think that they would realize a village of warrior women would have a problem with what generally amounts to brainwashing and forcible marriage. Even the items that would technically cause a permanent affectionate state are required by village law to be dispelled before an Amazon marriage ceremony is performed.

I fear I've gotten off track. My thoughts have been getting cloudier over the last few years, and I was hoping to teach Shampoo all I knew of the elder council. Unfortunately, now that I know where Saotome's heart lies first hand, and he has not been killed through Shampoo's intervention, I am lead to an impasse. What am I to do to save my heir?

HR.

The old woman closed the book, carefully placing the pencil in its proper place. She slipped the old looking tome into a drawer in her desk, before turning off the light next to her desk and heading up to bed. Her wrinkled face bore a troubled look the entire time.

HR.

A young, purple-haired woman looked solemnly at the letter in front of her, trying to hold back tears. This had been a part of her great grandmother's will, along with several books and a few of her safer magical artifacts. The will had explicitly told her, and her alone, to read this letter before examining anything else that the elder had left her. The rest of the council had made noises, since a lot of Cologne's documents and items were considered valuable, but Shampoo had shut them up, and no one was willing to stand up to the village's war mistress, even most of the elders.

Settling down in a chair, the woman slid a long fingernail under the seal of the letter, cutting it while ensuring that the pulse of Chi it released didn't incinerate the document inside. Her eyebrow raised at this. Her great grandmother must have needed to protect something pretty important if she'd left a security measure like that in place. Her eyebrows narrowing, the Amazon began to read.

HR.

Hello, Xian Pu.

As clichéd as this sounds, if you are reading this then I am dead, and you've been given several of my personal effects along with most of my journals and my staff.

Most of what you need to know about the artifacts is stored in the books, however this letter was written specifically to tell you a secret that I was keeping from you for about five years at the time of this writing. Before I tell you this, you must ensure that the elders do not look at my later journals. Not only would that make them declare me an enemy to the village, given the things that we did in Nerima, but it would also reveal what I am about to tell to you, and that would ensure the downfall of our house.

I have fought for far too long to raise us up to the highest spot in the warrior hierarchy of the village to get you banished now, especially since I am dead and will not be able to help you in the outside world.

But as you may be able to tell, I am stalling. Even in text form, I am reluctant to tell you what I have done, since you may not understand. I really do not know how old you are now, if you've settled down with some young man, or if you've risen to the level of a village elder. Personally, I'd rather the second one, but if you have then what I have done will likely shame you severely.

No matter how far in the future this is, I know that you still remember our adventures in Nerima, and how they came to an end. I know that you felt yourself responsible for what happened to Ranma, and letting you blame yourself for his death for so long hurt me deeply, especially when I saw how badly you took it, but it had to be done.

Xian Pu, Saotome Ranma is not dead.

HR.

The purple haired woman gasped as she read the last section of the letter, her eyes wide. "Airen…" She breathed, her hand shaking dramatically. Her current urge was to jump up and rage at the walls, to somehow punish her great grandmother for lying to her for years. She'd run up to her room and locked herself in when Nodoka Saotome had proclaimed that Ranma was to die, and when she'd come out several days later her elder had told her that the ceremony, and funeral, were over. The Amazons had packed up and left Nerima that night, and it had always troubled Shampoo how quickly they had done it. Standing up, she began pacing around the room, trying to think of a way to lash out.

"Xian Pu, is there something wrong?" Her husband, who had been attracted from the next room, asked as he poked his head into her bedroom. She had ordered him to stay out, so it was a testament to how much noise she was making that he had violated that order.

"No… I'm all right." She said, but then realized that she was crushing her great grandmother's letter. Her husband nodded and left the room.

Reluctantly, the Amazon warrior unfolded the message again, trying to find where she'd ended her reading. Finding the line that she'd stopped on, she resumed her reading, trying to find out why her elder had lied to her in the way she had.

HR.

Ah, I see that you're still reading and haven't thrown this in the nearest fire, which means that you want to know why I told you that Ranma was dead. The answer is simple, child. It was the only way.

I know that you wanted to bring Ranma home to the tribe as your Airen, however the method in which he survived his mother almost killing him was also a large boost in his relationship with the Tendo girl. He had actually confessed his love for her in a tangible way, and she had done the same when she came to stop the ceremony, and I could sense the sincerity of the statements.

Child, I'm afraid that the only way you would have been able to separate the boy from the Tendo girl within village law was to kill her, and I am not sure that you could, or that either of us would have survived the backlash of the entire Nerima district if you did. The only way that I could see of allowing us to go home and retain at least our public face was to state that the boy had been killed.

Xian Pu, I am sorry, but it was the only way. Even if you do hate me for this, know that it was done because I could see no other way.

Elder and Battle master of the Joketsuzoku, Cologne. June 2, 1999.

HR.

Shampoo frowned as she looked at the letter, before walking out into the main room of the hut and dropping it into the fire. Her husband and oldest daughter looked up in surprise from the table in the far corner of the room as the paper caught fire, but she paid them no mind as she exited the hut.

HR.

The sight of two large, round maces whirling through the air in a complicated dance captured the attention of several of the younger warriors in the Joketsuzoku village. For some reason that they did not know, their war mistress had exited her home several minutes ago and begun a hard and fast weapons drill in the middle of the square.

The warrior's practices always drew onlookers, either to admire her skill or to try and learn from her actions, and the other women stood in a quiet group near the corner of the square. They were startled from their quiet viewing when the purple haired woman stopped in her tracks, looking at them in an odd way.

"Is there something wrong, elder?" One of the girls asked, addressing the youngest elder in her tribe with the reverence that she deserved.

Shampoo looked over the wide eyed girls who were looking at her, including her second oldest daughter, and then turned back to the hut she'd emerged from. "No, there's nothing wrong." She finally said, letting her two maces fall into a hidden weapons pocket. Looking up at the sky, she said something in Japanese that the warriors couldn't translate. "Goodbye Ranma." Turning her view back to the group, she looked over the warriors that she had responsibility for and pointed at one of them. "Do you want to practice with me, Blush?"

The girl immediately nodded, and the two began to spar.

END.


	4. Letters To Kasumi

Well, last chapter didn't get much of a response… but what it did get wasn't "Kill it!" which leads me to believe that it should continue. Anyhow, here's chapter 4. My god, this fic seems to be my release for Semi-WAFF, at the very least, and this chapter's full on WAFF.

Chapter 4, Letters to Kasumi.

He sighed slightly, laying yet another of his traditional brown Gi in the suitcase and shutting the lid. Latching it shut, he fingered the envelope in his pocket with his other hand. It had taken him several false starts, and about six sheets of paper, but he'd finally written it.

Hoisting his suitcase off of his bed, Tofu Ono headed for the entrance to his clinic, flipping the sign to 'closed' on his way by, and dropped the heavy case into the back seat of his car before climbing in the front, turning the ignition key and driving off.

HR.

"Hey, Kasumi!" Akane said, walking past the kitchen door. "A letter came in for you from Doctor Tofu."

"Hmm?" The eldest Tendo asked, looking up to see her sister putting a small white envelope on the edge of the counter.

"I'll just leave it here for you, okay?" Akane said, smiling, as she headed into the house. "Now where is that P-chan?" She muttered, just before retreating out of earshot.

Kasumi considered ignoring the letter until after she was done pealing the potatoes, but sighed. Her wrist was getting sore, anyways. Setting the knife and potato down on the counter, she walked towards the letter and picked it up.

Sure enough, the post mark informed her that it had come from Dr. Tofu's office, and she used a knife to cut it open carefully.

Inside were a couple of sheets of paper, each filled with Tofu's neat script. This was odd, since most of the time he wrote to her the writing was half-way illegible. Curiously, the eldest Tendo sat down at the table and began to read.

HR.

Hello, Kasumi. I hope this letter finds you well.

I just wrote it to tell you that I am going on a training trip to help me with a few problems I'm having. I hope you don't mind me disappearing on you, but this trip is necessary. I left a spare key to the clinic under the front mat, so if you want to get a book or something, please feel free.

I think I may be going to China, and venturing around the rest of Asia. The trip could take a while, but I'll be sure to keep in touch.

When I come back, there's something I…

HR.

Kasumi frowned, wondering why Tofu-sensei's writing had suddenly degenerated to near complete un-readability there, but continued anyways.

HR.

Tell Ranma and your family good bye for me, all right?

Lo…. …fu O…

HR.

Kasumi blinked at the signature near the bottom of the letter, but shrugged it off as she heard a loud bang from upstairs. "Now you come back here right now, Ranma!" Akane bellowed, charging down the stairs after a frantically running female Ranma, Ryoga clamped firmly to the redhead's arm.

Kasumi smiled as the two slammed through the front door, and kept on running. "They're so excitable." She mused, going to get some wood to repair the door.

HR.

Kasumi looked down at yet another letter from Dr. Tofu, this one having obviously seen better days. The envelope was rather dirty, and it appeared that part of the corner had been torn off. Frowning worriedly, she used the rip to open the note the rest of the way, extracting an equally battered set of papers and photos.

The photos were interesting, to say the least. One, she realized, even looked sort of like Ranma's description of the Jusenkyo springs, only all of the poles were in one big lake, and Tofu was standing next to a sheepish looking guide.

Smiling slightly at the sight of a Tofu who looked reasonably well, she turned to the letter.

HR.

Hello again, Kasumi.

Well, this trip to China has certainly been an adventure. I'm sorry I haven't written in several months, but it's hard to get to a post office when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and the Chinese Government doesn't like tourists too much.

I haven't had much luck in solving the problem I came here for, (As the ten discarded drafts of this letter prove,) but it certainly has been an enlightening trip.

I've visited several of the places that Ranma-kun and Mr. Saotome told me about. As you can see, Jusenkyo looks a little different these days. I took that picture a couple of days before I mailed this, by the way.

I actually saw the battle Ranma had with Phoenix King Saffron that flooded the valley, though from a very safe distance.

Ah, I'm getting off track.

I just sent this letter to tell you that I'm heading into the depths of Asia now. I've learned a lot about alternative methods of medicine here in China, but like I said, I have another reason to travel. Also… I don't think the Amazons like me too much at the moment, but I'll explain that some other time.

How are you and your family doing? Have Ranma and Akane finally stopped fighting? I'd ask you to reply and tell me all about what's going on, but I'm rarely in one place from day to day. I suppose I'll find out when I come back.

I'll be sure to write again soon.

Lo…. T…fu Ono

HR.

A very small frown actually appeared on Kasumi's face as she read Tofu's letter. That comment about the Amazons had her good and worried, but she shook it off. Tofu was NOT Ranma… Not that there was anything wrong with Ranma, and not that she would have any right to say anything if Dr. Tofu came home with an Amazon wife.

She blinked, uncomprehending, as she heard the soft crackle of crushing paper. Looking down, she saw that she was the one doing the crushing. "Oh my." She said, hurriedly laying the letter flat. "Why ever did I do that?"

Dismissing that worry, she slipped the new letter in with the first she'd received, in a nice safe drawer in her bedroom.

Smiling to herself, she left the room and started heading down to the Dojo. There was a LOT of work to do down there, and she was sure that Ranma needed help.

HR.

The next letter was much cleaner, and it seemed almost to radiate excitement. The scribbled address, "Tendo Dojo, Nerima," was hard to make out as Kasumi carefully opened the envelope to extract the letter. There was a similar group of pictures to last time, now showing various interesting structures, and what looked like a small town hospital with Tofu standing out front, grinning happily.

Moving to the letter, its script was almost as excited as the writing on the outside, and she had to read it slowly.

HR.

Hello again, Kasumi.

A lot's happened to me since last time I wrote, but most of it has been good, thankfully. I've found a nice little town up in the mountains that has a mental healer to help my problem, and I'm meditating with him every day. In exchange, I've agreed to work in the town's little clinic, since their last doctor had to leave the area a few months ago.

The village is beautiful, and the people are all so nice, even if I barely speak the language. There have been a few problems with those Amazons I mentioned, but not many. Working here is a lot like working in Nerima… well, without all of the martial arts caused injuries, and the locals have started to embrace me. It'll be a real shame when I head back to Tokyo.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I am coming back to Tokyo. Hopefully, in a few weeks. It will be very nice to see everyone again. I miss you all very much. Also, I've got a surprise for you, Kasumi, when I get back. I hope you'll like it.

Oh, it looks like another patient has come in, so I'll have to rap this up now.

Love, Tofu Ono.

HR.

Kasumi looked down at the letter, blinking at the last line. It had always been garbled before, and she'd almost come to expect it to be that way. She'd just assumed it was some idiosyncrasy of Dr. Tofu's letter writing style. Now, though, it read 'Love, Tofu Ono," as clear as day.

She was about to let herself dwell upon that thought, when she heard a loud crashing sound from down stairs. With a shrug, she put the letter with the others in her desk, and moved down to see what the problem was.

HR.

Back and forth. That was all she was doing, pacing back and forth, her hands twitching with the urge to pick up a sponge, or a mop, or even a feather duster. The house was… CLEAN. It was completely, absolutely clean, and, truth to tell, Kasumi was bored. This was an odd state of affairs, since there was usually enough going on to keep her occupied, but no one was here this week. Ranma and Akane had gone off on a training trip, Genma had moved out months ago, Nabiki was sleeping over at a friend's house and her father was somewhere in Hokkaido with Happosai.

Frowning, the eldest Tendo paced over to her bookshelf, looking through the dozens of titles there. Unfortunately, she'd read them all in the four days she'd had in 'peace' so far. She was so agitated, she almost considered creating a mess to clean up, in spite of how much that went against all of her instincts.

Fortunately, before things got to that grave a state, she heard the sound of the door bell. Smiling brightly, she hurried downstairs to answer it. It was strange. Most of the time, people didn't bother using the bell, and she'd almost forgotten what it sounded like.

Reaching the front entry hall, Kasumi swung the door open unthinking, surprised to see that there was a man in a rather dirty grey-brown GI standing there, a backpack over his back, and his brown hair blowing into his eyes. "Oh, hello Ryoga-kun." The eldest Tendo said, cheerfully.

The man looked taken aback for a moment. "I didn't know I looked like Ryoga, Kasumi." He said, nervously. Kasumi just giggled, and he frowned. "That wasn't very funny, you know."

"I'm sorry, come on in Dr. Tofu." Kasumi said, smiling softly as she cleared the entryway. He obliged, entering and carefully slipping off his travel warn boots, switching them for clean house slippers. "I'm so glad to see you back safe." She continued, helping him with his pack. Fortunately for her arm, the pack wasn't nearly as heavy as Ryoga's, and she was easily able to handle it.

"Thanks, Kasumi." He said, smiling brightly back at her. She noted that he seemed to say her name a lot, but dismissed it as she stepped back and lead him in to the living room. Gesturing for him to take a seat, she headed for the kitchen to bring out the kettle she'd been keeping boiling out of force of habit.

As she walked back into the living room, Tofu looked at her, almost seeming in awe. "Kasumi…" He said, slowly. She inclined her head, waiting for him to continue, as she began fixing tea. "Do you know why I left on that trip so long ago?"

"Didn't you say that you wanted to learn more forms of alternative medicine, and solve some other problem?" She asked, wondering why Tofu seemed so much more serious than he usually did around her.

He nodded. "Did you know what that other problem was?" He asked, simply.

She shook her head.

He sighed, and reached a hand into his Gi top as he began to speak. "Kasumi, when I first met you, I thought you were just a nice young girl." He started. "As you aged and grew into a young woman, that opinion began to change."

Kasumi's hand went to her mouth, as she said "Oh, my…" Unsure of where he was going.

"Kasumi… I loved you, but I would always start acting strangely around you." He said, choking on the word love almost as much as Ranma would, but managing to say it. "Now, I don't act like that. I spent all that time to learn to control myself, and I ask… will you marry me?" As he said the last, his hand was removed from his pocket, revealing a box with a ring in it.

"Oh…my." Kasumi said, fainting dead away.

HR.

"Ranma! Hey, Baka!" Akane frowned. "Will you LISTEN?!"

"Hmm?" Ranma Saotome mumbled, winding down from his practice Kata and looking over at his rather angry wife. "What's wrong, 'Kane?" He asked, stretching.

"I've been calling you for five minutes." Akane Saotome grumbled, glaring at him levelly. "We've got a letter from Kasumi. I thought you'd want to read it."

"Oh?" Ranma asked, heading towards his wife, and the porch she was sitting on. "Haven't heard from her since she left with the doc."

Akane growled, obviously holding back both frustration and excitement. "I know, so let's go read it." She said, biting out each word clearly and distinctly.

"Okay, okay. Calm down, okay Tomboy?" Ranma said, nudging Akane in the arm. She retaliated with a much harder nudge, but he dodged out of its way.

"Are you two done?" Came the annoyed voice of Nabiki Tendo from the kitchen table, where she was giving her sister and her husband an annoyed look.

"Yeah, I think we're done." Ranma said, walking over to his sister in law. "So, what's Kasumi say?"

Nabiki simply nodded, and began reading the letter she had laid out in front of her.

HR.

Greetings, everyone!

How are you all? I heard that Ranma and Akane have finally gotten married. Tofu-kun says it's about time. We're doing well here, though it took some getting used to. Still, this small town is so nice, and I can even take a nursing degree from right here with the College down in the city.

I met the monk that helped Tofu with his little problem. The old man is very nice, but he seems a little… I don't like saying this about strangers, but he acts a bit like Grandfather Happosai. Still, he doesn't bother me, and helps Tofu a lot with some patients.

Oh, that reminds me. If elder Cologne is still there, tell her that we are deeply sorry for Lin Lin-san's injuries. Tofu says that her arm should gain feeling again within a couple of months…

On a happier note, Tofu and I are going to have a baby soon. You should have seen his face when I told him the results of the pregnancy test. I swear, he almost started to bounce off the walls like he used to.

I miss you all, and tell Daddy I love him. I hope you can come up here some day, as the view is beautiful.

Love, Kasumi Ono.

END.

Well, the last letter wasn't strictly to Kasumi, but there ya go. Hope you enjoyed this installment, and please keep on reading!

Misato:Hey, aren't you supposed to be working on the AOL epilogue?

Axelrad: And the next chapter of Officer Sato!

WeebeePoints frantically upwards.) Look, An update to Forever the Tomboy! (Runs off.)

Axelrad: where? link? damnit, misato! could you please drag him back here?!


End file.
